Chapter 314

Chapter 314: Promotion

Shu Rang flicked his hand.

In the next blink, they were at Thunder Well.

Lightning flared in blinding chains, like countless thunder serpents sealed beneath the air.

“Go,” Shu Rang said. “I’m leaving.”

And he vanished.

Wang Jie exhaled. He’d left too quickly—there were still questions Wang Jie wanted to ask.

He shook his head and headed forward. Luo Yan and the others should still be here.

He found them soon enough, looking better than ever. Luo Yan was genuinely pleased to see him. Back then, without Wang Jie’s help, Luo Yan wouldn’t be living so comfortably now.

He wasn’t an elite disciple, but he was edging closer and closer to One Gaze, Three Thousand—close enough that he might someday qualify to cultivate chen art.

And the group following him trusted him more with each passing day.

After a brief conversation, Wang Jie headed down into Thunder Well alone.

Without a powerful protector, he only dared stay within the Deep Thunder Zone. It was meant for roaming-star realm training, and the lightning strength there was barely within what he could withstand.

The Heavy Thunder Zone was a different story. A single bolt could end him.

Even in the Deep Thunder Zone, the real problem wasn’t one bolt—it was the sheer density. Lightning fell in a relentless storm, like endless blows striking from every angle.

In the end, he shifted upward to the boundary between the Deep Thunder Zone and the Shallow Thunder Zone. Only there could he steady his breathing enough to cultivate.

He had just begun to settle…

When the lightning around him abruptly vanished, as if cut away by an invisible hand.

Someone had arrived.

Wang Jie turned.

Si Yao stood there, calm as ever.

Wang Jie bowed. “Greetings, Senior.”

Si Yao nodded slightly. “How did the mission go?”

Wang Jie answered without hesitation. “This junior succeeded. I obtained the complete Red Moon method and can hand it to Senior now.”

Si Yao’s brows lifted. “You truly obtained it?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re willing to give it up?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Wang Jie said evenly. “This junior belongs to Star Vault Vista. If Star Vault Vista needs something, I will give my full effort.”

Si Yao studied him, as if weighing whether the devotion was real or performance. Then he said, “You know Red Moon isn’t only a method.”

Wang Jie met his gaze. “It involves the Nan Family’s secrets.”

Si Yao’s eyes narrowed. “The Nan Family used the Four Seasons train to collect countless secrets. Red Moon is the key. Knowing that… you still want to hand it over?”

He paused. “I’ll remind you: the mission can be failed.”

Wang Jie frowned. “Senior seems reluctant for me to hand it over.”

“Not reluctant,” Si Yao said. “I’m giving you a choice.”

Wang Jie didn’t hesitate. “This junior is willing. Wholeheartedly.”

Si Yao’s expression softened into something like approval. “Good.”

Wang Jie handed over the complete Red Moon method.

Si Yao confirmed the mission’s completion at once—and then promoted him.

“You are now an analyst,” Si Yao said. “Analyst is the second rank after observer within Star Vault Vista. Higher status. You gain the right to invite others into Star Vault Vista, oversee a group of observers, and assign tasks.”

He held up a hand before Wang Jie could speak. “But your obligations increase. You’ll receive missions more frequently, and you will not receive separate rewards for each completed mission.”

Wang Jie’s eyes brightened. “Rewards aren’t necessary. Serving Star Vault Vista is an honor.”

Si Yao laughed softly. “Few in Star Vault Vista history have advanced after their first mission.”

Then his tone sharpened again. “We allowed this for two reasons. First, the Nan Family’s Red Moon method matters. Second, it was a test.”

He stared at Wang Jie. “If you obtained Red Moon and refused to hand it over… you would never advance for the rest of your life.”

Wang Jie’s brows rose despite himself.

A rare promotion on one side. A lifetime stuck on the other.

He was suddenly very glad he’d listened to his cheap master.

Si Yao left him a list before departing—the observers within Fourth Nebula.

There was only one name.

Ji Xiang Wan.

The introduction was simple: hundred-star realm, Bai Shou.

Bai Shou was a hundred-star realm expert under White Realm Lord. Which meant Wang Jie now had a hundred-star realm under his authority—someone he could assign tasks to.

It felt… strangely satisfying.

If only there were more.

With that, Wang Jie sank into cultivation within Thunder Well and ignored the outside world.

—

The Thousand Rivers stretched without end.

Cold-Smoke Ferry.

This was the Azure Nether River—within East Dou bridge-pillar.

Legend called Azure Nether River a place of miracles. Ride it upward, and you could touch the highest reaches of a bridge-pillar and look down upon an endless sea of stars.

Everyone knew Cold-Smoke Ferry was the entrance.

No one knew where the Azure Nether River truly was.

Even the Gui family of Cold-Smoke Ferry claimed ignorance.

At Thousand Rivers, endless crowds gathered along the flowing water, waiting for the fearsome Three-Legged Mystic Turtle.

But Thousand Rivers was vast as a galaxy’s ribbon. No one could predict where it would appear.

“Old Dad,” a young man muttered, “are we really here to propose? We haven’t even seen her. Isn’t this too abrupt?”

“Abrupt my ass,” the older man snapped. “Look around. Who isn’t here to propose? You’d better perform well. If she likes you, our family’s fortune is made.”

“So my happiness is the sacrifice,” the son grumbled.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. Nothing. Old Dad, you go on, you go on. Heh.”

All around them were murmurs and anxious stares, everyone fixed on the water as if blinking would be fatal.

Then someone screamed, voice cracking with excitement. “It’s here! Over here—on our side!”

The crowd surged.

Messages flew outward—large clans and forces had stationed people in every direction of Thousand Rivers, ensuring they wouldn’t miss the appearance.

Far away, mist and cloud rolled in, drawing closer and closer. Cold-Smoke Ferry drifted within that fog.

As it approached, peaks rose like spears and cliffs spread like screens. Cold air curled around the mountains. Strange flowers and auspicious grasses bloomed among cultivated bamboo and towering pines. Mists scattered into colored light, and the sun and moon seemed to shimmer as if shaken.

Then the cries came—eerie, wild, resonant—carrying through the starry sky as if nothing in the universe could block sound.

Some of those cries were oddly soothing. Colored light swept the crowd, and for a moment it felt like standing inside a blessed land.

This was Cold-Smoke Ferry.

“Nan Dou bridge-pillar Ling family brings our juniors to request an audience with Miss Gui Xiao Die!”

“East Dou bridge-pillar Luo Nan Mountain clan brings—”

“North Dou bridge-pillar—”

Countless voices rose, one after another, all bowing toward Cold-Smoke Ferry.

Young men were forced down by elders’ hands, heads pressed low. Some looked furious, but none dared show it.

Others were just there to watch.

“Who do you think Miss Gui Xiao Die will choose?”

“Who knows? But whoever she chooses… that’s a step straight into the heavens. The ones who married into Cold-Smoke Ferry never left again, but their families were protected. No one dared touch them.”

“And the real prize is Azure Nether River. That’s one of the four bridge-pillar’s greatest mysteries.”

“Honestly, if it were me, I wouldn’t marry in. Anyone who can come here has seen the world—why give up freedom? No one who married in ever came out. Maybe they’re all dead.”

“Shh. You’re trying to die? Keep talking and a Wandering God might slaughter you.”

“Exactly. Gui Chuan—one of the four Wandering Gods—is Miss Gui Xiao Die’s own brother. If you marry her, you’ll spend your whole life bowing your head.”

Cold-Smoke Ferry came to a halt.

A woman’s voice rang out—cool, arrogant, and clear. “I am Gui Xiao Die. I know why you’ve come. Spare the pleasantries.”

“If you want to marry me and enter Cold-Smoke Ferry, you may.”

Her tone didn’t soften, but her words still shocked the crowd. “I am not like the women before me. Whoever marries me will be my husband. Not someone who ‘marries in’ as a dependent. In Cold-Smoke Ferry, no one will dare bully you. Outside, no one will dare bully your family.”

“This is my promise.”

The crowd went still.

She sounded… different.

Hope flared in countless eyes. Any clan that allied with Cold-Smoke Ferry would never truly decline. Cold-Smoke Ferry lived apart from the world and fought for nothing, yet no one dared look down on it—not even the leading forces of the bridge-pillar.

“But,” Gui Xiao Die continued, “marrying me will not be easy. You must complete three impossibilities.”

“First—beat a Wandering God.”

“Second—beat a Tian Cang guarding star realm figure.”

“Third—beat the mystic turtle beneath your feet.”

“Only then will you be worthy to marry me, Gui Xiao Die. Only then will you be worthy to conquer me.” Her voice turned sharper. “Do you understand?”

The crowd exploded.

What kind of conditions were these?

No wonder she called them impossible.

The first condition alone crushed everyone.

Beat a Wandering God? The four Wandering Gods were the ceiling of roaming-star realm. Within their realm, none surpassed them. Even those above their realm didn’t dare claim easy victory.

Who could beat a Wandering God?

Only another Wandering God.

Someone shouted, “Miss Xiao Die, your brother is Gui Chuan, one of the four Wandering Gods. With your relationship, you know his strength best. Who could possibly defeat him? He is invincible in roaming-star realm. Hundred-star realm are far older than you and cannot seek your hand. This condition is unreasonable.”

“Exactly! Miss, change it!”

“If someone could beat a Wandering God, why would they agree to enter Cold-Smoke Ferry?”

Gui Xiao Die’s voice turned colder. “These are the three impossibilities I set. Whoever completes them may present them as betrothal gifts and propose to Cold-Smoke Ferry.”

Her tone sharpened with pride. “And my dowry will not be less.”

A voice rang out, eager and loud. “Miss—what is the dowry?”

Gui Xiao Die gave a faint, contemptuous laugh. “This.”

“The Three-Legged Mystic Turtle.”

The world fell silent.

Every eye locked onto the mist hovering above Thousand Rivers.

The Three-Legged Mystic Turtle… as a dowry?

How was that even possible?